Xbox Insider – E3 Day 1 Update

I was greeted by green; lots and lots of green. The way the Microsoft booth was set up was very time consuming, but totally worth it. There were so many game demos within the actual main Xbox booth, I didn't know where to begin, so naturally the team decided to make me feel a bit embarrassed and play some Dance Central 3! Because I am TheGamerSheep I like to wear a special sheep hat, which I made all of the back up dancers wear. They put on “Teach Me How To Dougie”, the hardest song available in the demo. Now I'll admit it, I have never done any Dougie dancing before so I completely failed at the game. Even though I was so bad, I still had loads of fun in the short time I had with the game. I wasn't the only one who got a chance to try out Dance Central 3 - there were quite a few weirdly dressed cosplayers and strange characters who decided to join in on the action. Despite everyone’s lack of skill, a great time was still had by all.

Next, it was time to see what was on offer in the Xbox Arcade section. I was actually surprised by some of the stuff they had to demo; the production values were very high considering most of the Arcade games had small development teams. One in particular, Ascent: New Gods, had me and another guy playing as huge gods, slaying bad guys. The interesting thing about it was that even though it is a co-op experience, you can sabotage the other player by sending all of the enemies to attack him while you run away. Of course I totally did this. If you feel a bit nicer though, you can use your power for good too.

Forza Horizon seemed to be everywhere I went. Walking around L.A. there were Lamborghinis and other cars from the game driving around with the game's logo all over them. Apparently you can get a ride in one of these super cars – fingers crossed. Anyway, Forza Horizon is an open world game this time around. You and your friends can cause mayhem around the city online or just purely race. Personally, the most impressive improvement to the game is the visuals. Simply put, this game almost looks like real life!

Halo 4 had a huge presence today at E3 as well. Initially, I didn't get a chance to play it because there was another long line waiting outside the behind-closed-doors session. I actually interviewed a guy who waited over 2 hours just to get a glimpse of Master Chief in action.

Speaking of the Chief, he was there in an awesome costume getting pictures taken with fans. A giant, life sized Warthog was also on display, but unfortunately they weren't offering rides in it. It was great to have my picture taken with something that looked like it was straight out of the game!

As far as Halo 4 itself, I had very high expectations and they were all definitely met. I got to play the game at a very exclusive event in downtown L.A., and I’m happy to report that there are new modes, better graphics and heaps of customization. If you liked any previous Halo offerings, you will love Halo 4.

That's about it for Day 1 of the Expo being open. I must have walked a countless number of kilometres today – the show floor probably takes 20 minutes to get from one side to the other! My feet feel like they are about to fall off, but I don't care, there is a whole 2 days of E3 left to experience, and I have lots more great interviews lined up and games that need playing!